Border delays topic of study

By VICTOR MORALES, Staff Writer

Tuesday, December 25, 2007 11:53 PM PST

Security at U.S. ports of entry has been dramatically strengthened since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Funding for the ports has increased by more than 700 percent. President Bush budgeted a whopping $7.8 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection for 2007, a 10 percent increase from the previous year. And $2.5 billion was spent at the ports of entry this year, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

The Imperial Valley, like other communities economically tied to the ports of entries, has its own numbers; figures that indicate the financial loss from delays caused by the post-Sept. 11 port security measures.

The Imperial Valley-Mexicali Economic Delay Study finalized and released Dec. 3 is this county’s definitive study on how the delays at its three ports of entry have impacted its economy and is one of the top stories of the year.

Among the study’s findings: more than 1.3 million personal cross-border trips are lost, resulting in $276 million potential revenue lost annually.

Freight delays cost the county $76 million worth of production per year.

In all the study found that the total annual production loss was $352 million, according to the study.